GUISELEY are in the midst of an important month in their season, according to joint-manager Marcus Bignot.

The Lions are languishing in 17th place in the Vanarama National League North following a 1-0 defeat at Southport on Tuesday night.

Guiseley have now won just six games from 23 league games this season, although they have also recorded 10 draws.

Now Bignot wants a response from his charges as he comes up against his former club, sixth-placed Chester, on Saturday. The 44-year-old managed the club during the 2017-18 campaign, as Chester suffered relegation from the Vanarama National League Premier.

Guiseley have become depleted following winger Louis Walsh returning to parent club Barnsley last month.

Bignot said: "The lads are giving us everything. We are down to the bare bones. We need to bring in a couple of fresh faces.

"We have come out of a busy period and we are now at a big period of the season. We are no different to most clubs.

"Once we have got to the end of January we will know what we are about.

"When you come out of the Christmas period and get through January, you get to the business end of the season. Then you have the last three months, 12 weeks of the season to go.

"If we had won at Southport on Tuesday we could have gone up to 11th. The league is still unpredictable. We still have a couple of games in hand, so the table does not show a true reflection of the league at the moment.

"We were operating on a squad of 17 or 18 players but we've had injuries. Louis Walsh has left us and returned to Barnsley and Will Hatfield is injured. We will now have a look at our academy players for the first team and give them a chance.

"Chester is going to be a good game, a tough one for us. It is no different for me going there than it was going to Southport on Tuesday night. Chester are in a good position in the league at the moment."

Bignot also had sympathy for fellow managers Sam Collins and Neil MacFarlane, who lost their jobs at fellow Vanarama National League North sides York City and Kidderminster Harriers respectively this week.

Bignot added: "There are some big clubs in this division, former Football League clubs.

"It shows that at every level there needs to be success. This year we wanted to bring the feelgood factor back to the club and address the financial liability and make massive inroads in that.

"We have had to number crunch in a different remit for us this season. We have made good work with that and need some work on the pitch too."